


Darlings

by egoblow



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Blood and Gore, Implied Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison/Reaper | Gabriel Reyes - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Soulmates, Talon Hanzo Shimada, Talon Jesse McCree, talon au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-01-16 18:19:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12348042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egoblow/pseuds/egoblow
Summary: Jesse never imagined that he would ever find his soulmate, but he knew that if he did, he would murder them without a second thought.---Soulmate AU in which people kill their soulmates to gain power. Talon!McCree meets Talon!Hanzo.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My sad attempt at writing a Soulmate!AU.

_"Si un jour la vie t’arrache à moi."_

Jesse lifted his head, roused from his slumber, at the sound of the soft lyrics weaving through an otherwise silent car.

_"Si tu meurs que tu sois loin de moi."_

His gaze drifted out the window to stare out into the darkness where the moon remained masked by towering trees. Ahead of them, the twin lights of their SUV illuminated their lonely road.

_"Peu m'importe si tu m’aimes."_

Jesse glanced to his left where his mission companion sang softly to herself. The renown assassin with skin tinged blue held a gentle grasp on the steering wheel with her impeccably manicured hands. The French lyrics were lost on him so he covered his face with his hat and sank lower into his seat. Widowmaker wasn't much of a talker, and Jesse didn't have the energy to muster up any common ground. 

_"Car moi je mourrai aussi."_

Judging by the clock, another two hours of driving remained before Jesse could sink into his bed with the sting of bourbon on his lips. His eyes fluttered closed, used to the delicate silence that accompanied missions with Widowmaker.

Tonight would be different, it seemed. 

"Do you know this song, McCree?" She asked just as lethargy weighed down his eyelids. 

Jesse lifted his head, raising a brow at the sniper. "No offense, but ain't never had much interest in French stuff."

"As expected," Widowmaker sighed, almost melodically. "Hymne à l'amour is an exquisite song. A classic."

"I'll look it up then," He offered while stifling a yawn, knowing better than to offend the Frenchwoman. No amount of running could escape from one of her bullets. "What brings this up?" 

"Gérard would sing it to me often. He loved Édith Piaf," The words hung in the air for a moment. Distantly, Jesse thought about another time when Gérard's name used to summon bile to the back of his throat, when the stains of red across soft bedsheets used to paint his memories. He remained silent, unsure of how to react knowing full well the delicacy of the past. Thankfully, she continued. "I killed Gérard on this night eight years ago."

In another time, Jesse would have given a shit. Would have opened up his heart and spoken softly about the good ol' days when the Lacroix still had a happy ending. Would have pleaded for the old Amélie to return and to bring Gérard back with her. Would have... cared. 

But those days were long gone, decimated and burnt, just like his heart. Jesse's world went up in flames along with Overwatch HQ, primed to burn from witnessing everything he held dear crumble from the inside out. Nothing meant much anymore, not after watching his surrogate family combust from the inside out, and this coldness he felt was the only way to keep going. 

It was a dog-eat-dog world and like Hell was Jesse going to let himself get picked off. 

So he followed Gabriel. Deadlock then Blackwatch now Talon. What did it even matter? All he ever did was kill whatever his handlers wanted, like a trained mutt. The only thing that ever changed was the name of those he murdered for. 

"Mm, I remember that," Jesse replied blandly, voice betraying nothing of what he had once felt. Sentimentality got people killed in Talon, just like the days of Deadlock all over again. The hard and fast rule almost felt good in how familiar it was. No more parental figures, no more faux families, no more going through the motions of  _rehabilitation_ as if talking to someone could ever cleanse him of the blood on his hands. No, he could never let go of the sins of his past no matter what the glossy, picture-perfect brochures at Overwatch said. Jesse had sealed his fate when he first shot a bullet through his father's heart at the age of twelve. 

"Shocked the Hell outta everyone," Jesse stated, voice neutral. Gérard's murder had hit Jesse hard back then, but those feelings shriveled up with the donning of Talon's black.

Widowmaker laughed, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Jesse's spine for how sweet it sounded. "Of course, he was my soulmate."

"Yeah, your soulmate," Jesse muttered. He itched for nicotine so he busied his hands by pulling a cigarillo out. A rush of cool air slipped through a crack in the window as he lit it up. 

"Smoking will kill you," Widowmaker commented dryly, nose wrinkling delicately in disgust.

"Not expectin' to live long enough for the habit to kill me," The cowboy huffed.

Their conversation ended with that. Widowmaker resumed humming her French song while Jesse puffed on his cigarillo while futilely counting the trees that passed by.

Killing one's soulmate was an unspeakable act. The act was profoundly rare in the mainstream though it felt like a pre-requisite to join Talon. Like a hazing ritual, most boasted of slaying their other halves and feasting upon their heart. Prove one's worth by depraving oneself with the worst thing a single person could do: kill the person who completes you. 

_Or ruins you._

The scarred, ruined face and the fried vocal cords of Gabriel were the first things that came to mind when Jesse needed a reason for not seeking his soulmate. He remembered the way Gabe and Jack used to look at each other. The way they fought then made up and fought some more until no amount of promises and kisses could patch things up. In some ways, the heightened emotions of their soulmate bond made things worse with everything felt too strongly, too vividly. 

There wasn't much that remained of Gabe anymore. His hulking, scarred form still stalked through the halls of their base, but the mask and the Reaper name hid the void beneath. A void that grew bigger as more of Gabe faded with each unsuccessful hunt for his former golden boy. Somewhere down the line, that love must have broken and mutated into an obsession that could only be quenched with death. 

Jesse flicked the cigarillo stub out the window, but kept it cracked open. The wind felt nice as it whipped around his hair, threatening to lift off his hat. He closed his eyes, enjoying the coolness against his heated skin.

Most of the Talon agents that he knew who hadn't murdered their soulmates yet were like Gabe in a near-obsessive need to find them. Hunt them. Kill them. Wring out the life from them because doing so meant power. It meant immeasurable power for the price of an unspeakable act.

His gaze returned to the woman in the driver's seat. When she was still Amélie, she had an impeccable eye and steady hands. Murdering her soulmate and consuming his heart had gifted her with an uncanny ability to find her targets, wherever they hid. Paired with her deadly aim and Jesse sure was glad to have chosen the same side as her.

 _"Nous aurons pour nous l’éternité_ ," The humming morphed into singing again. Jesse slowly raised the window, intent on sleeping the rest of the ride back.

"Jesse," Widowmaker interrupted his sleep once again. The timing felt too right that surely she was waiting for him to start drifting before speaking.

"Yeah?"

"Have you found your soulmate yet?" Widowmaker asked, eyes still focused on the road.

Jesse raised a brow at the question, but he shrugged. "Nah, don't expect I ever will either."

Widowmaker hummed. "You will not search for them?"

Jesse considered it for a moment. The search had always tempted him. He'd always been curious about who his other half would be and what it might feel like to feel whole for once. But he intentionally left that question unanswered because there was only one possible outcome to meeting his soulmate. "Not worth my time."

He doesn't want to end up like Gabe after all. Perhaps not like Amélie either. 

"Would you kill them?"

Jesse furrowed his brows at the question and wondered whether Widowmaker was always this talkative on the anniversary of her husband's death. "'Course I would. Put a bullet right between their eyes."

Widowmaker laughed, amused by her own dark thought. "You should hope I am not around. I might steal your kill."

"Ain't very ladylike of you," The cowboy sat up and flicked the radio on to fill the silence for them. A man wailed to an acoustic guitar about some love down in Georgia. Jesse pulled his hat over his face and closed his eyes.

Sleep came, and with it dreams of wrapping his hands around a delicate neck and squeezing until his own heart stopped feeling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags will be added as needed. I'd say... don't expect happy Reaper76 in this?  
> Also, basically imagine that the level of power you would get from murdering your soulmate is akin to their ults. :P
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](https://egoblow.tumblr.com/) now! Rec me your favorite Overwatch/McHanzo Tumblrs or your own to follow. :3
> 
> //
> 
> English lyrics to Hymne à l'amour by Édith Piaf
> 
> The blue sky over us can collapse on itself  
> and the ground can (really) cave in.  
> Little matters to me if you love me  
> I couldn't care less about the whole world  
> As long as love will flood my mornings  
> As long as my body will tremble under your hands  
> The problems make little difference to me  
> My love, because you love me.
> 
> I will go to the end of the world  
> I will dye my hair blond  
> If you ask me to  
> I will go take down the moon  
> I will steal fortune  
> if you ask me to.
> 
> I will renounce my country  
> I will renounce my friends  
> if you ask me to.  
> One could really laugh at me  
> I will do anything  
> if you ask me to.
> 
> if one day life tears you away from me  
> if you die than you will be far from me  
> what's it matter if you love me  
> because I will die too.  
> We will have for us, eternity  
> in the blue of all the immensity  
> in heaven, no more problems  
> my love do you believe that we love each other  
> God, reunite those who love each other.
> 
> Credit: Lyrics Translate - http://lyricstranslate.com/en/l039hymne-l039amour-hymn-love.html


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'm so sorry it took so long to update! It's been a while, but hoping to get back on a regular schedule for all fics now that life has calmed down. 
> 
> Please enjoy! Hoping to reach the fun stuff soon. :')

_A soft, tender throat, his calloused fingers relentlessly pressing into the vulnerable flesh._

_His combat knife gripped tightly before striking forward, forcing an eruption of red across unblemished skin._

_Blood splashed, painting the sheets._

"Didn't expect to see you back so soon."

The blood, the knife, that tender throat ripped away from his mind. He drew in a sharp breath as he opened his eyes. The violent images were replaced by the darkness of his room and the faint purple glow of his guest.

"Told ya not to barge in here," Jesse grumbled, cracking his neck and setting the bottle of bourbon resting in his lap to the side.

"Not my fault your security sucks," His guest flicked the lights on, momentarily blinding him. "Or that you let your guard down."

"Let a man live a little," He stretched, noting how strongly his breath stank of alcohol. Drinking until he blacked out in the privacy of his room had been his little reward for a mission success. Distantly, he recalled small celebrations with communal dinners and overly competitive video games.

Those days were long gone.

The woman by his door snorted, pushing off the doorway. She stepped carefully around the small room, making an exaggerated show of avoiding the dirty laundry that littered the floor. "Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?"

Jesse rolled his eyes. His fingers curled around the neck of the bottle and tilted it to his lips for one more splash of the fiery liquid. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand before pushing himself off the bed. "Figured you'd spill it, Sombra."

"I never spill anything. Not without payment," The hacker tsked as she made her way to his closet. She began rummaging through it though there was little to scrutinize. A few options of shirts and pants occupied the bare hole of his closet. Sighing, she threw a nondescript black shirt at him. "That'll do."

"Do for what?" Jesse pulled it on before snatching up his hat.

"First impressions, yada yada," Sombra waved her hand in the air with clear expectations for Jesse to fill in the gaps.

"Guests?"

"Better. New recruits," Her lips curled up into a devious smile that made Jesse's skin itch with uneasiness.

"Never been one for newbie duties," He kept to himself mostly. Always felt too apathetic to engage with the bulk of Talon's forces and Reaper's influences kept him out of the grunt work of on-boarding the newcomers. If they were worth anything, he'd expect to see them a few months down the line after they proved themselves by surviving that long.

"Oh, trust me. It'll be fun," Sombra replied cryptically with a knowing look. That uneasy itch evolved, making his fingers ghost along the cool edges of Peacekeeper. He'd known Sombra a while now and anything that piqued her interest never boded well for others.

The pair turned the corner to the hangar bay only to be greeted by the blast of hot air. The heat was a telltale sign of the newly arrived plane combined with the general commotion of the small crowd that had gathered in the center. Jesse raised a brow at Sombra expectantly. It wasn't often that the bulk of Talon welcomed newcomers. There wasn't much space for sentimentality.

"Looks like they got started without us," Sombra noted, nudging Jesse to move forward with a well-placed jab of a manicured finger. Warily, he started to shoulder through the crowd with Sombra in tow.

The general ruckus of the crowd fell away into layers: howling laughter, shouting, jeering... As Jesse drew closer, he could pick up the unmistakable sound of fists meeting flesh and the thump of bodies hitting the floor.

Grunting, wheezing breaths--

A pair of bodies struggled on the floor. Jesse recognized one of them with her shock of blue hair and penchant for thick eyeliner-- Most knew her as Nyx. She had her arms and legs wrapped around a man's body with one bulging arm pressed tight around his throat. The man, unrecognizable to Jesse, flailed until he managed to grab a hold of her hair, which he pulled with all his might.

"Y'really dragged me out of bed for this?" Jesse elbowed Sombra, grumpy for having been forced out to watch a bunch of meatheads scuffle.

"Consider this the appetizer."

Jesse turned his attention back to the fight, but not without shooting Sombra one last annoyed look. The others continued to jeer, urging on the violence between their so-called comrades. It was a senseless display, but not unusual. There was something about putting in a group of the most shamelessly violent folks in one space that led this to be a routine part of the day. Most fights resolved themselves after the winning party asserted their dominance enough. Stupid shit that Jesse found to be entirely too immature for his taste.

His thoughts paused, hand instinctively going to Peacekeeper at his side. His fingers itched, craving the weight of his gun and its quiet reassurance. Instinct, as Gabe had once called it-- good survival instincts-- had foreseen the sudden shift from average fight to something more.

The glint of metal in the hangar bay lights caught his eye before the knife dove straight into the man's chest. Blood splurted forth, painting Nyx's face where her lips were stretched thin in a delirious smile. She let go, exhausted, as the man thrashed and clawed at the knife embedded in his chest.

A futile effort, Jesse noted, thumb still tracing the edges along Peacekeeper's handle. Nyx had been dead on with aiming the knife and she was rewarded for it a moment later. The man slumped down, eyes open and unseeing, while blood continued to gush out from the hole by his heart.

Nyx screamed in victory, slumping over the man's form. Blood coated the front of her body and matted down the hair that hadn't been ripped out in large chunks. She laughed as she clutched the man before her, continuing on even as she pressed a sloppy kiss to the man's lips.

"This your way of saying I should find my soulmate?" Jesse glanced at Sombra.

Sombra shrugged, eyes fixated on Nyx. The victor took her spoils by messily butchering the losing man. Bones cracked under the strength of Nyx's hands, giving way to the precious treasure beneath. Nyx gave out another delirious shriek as she cut away flesh until she held the man's heart in her hands.

"Not exactly what I had in mind," She turned to leave as did much of the crowd. Nyx remained alone, swallowing down the heart in a frenzy. "You think there'd be a better way to do it."

"Like what? Fry it up in a pan with some butter and herbs?" Jesse snorted, falling into step next to the only one he could vaguely call a friend here.

"Something less primitive," Sombra waved her hand dismissively.

"Seems like the right way to do, mess and all, for what you're gettin'."

"I'll try it the day soulmates start handing out Vishkar's server with their hearts."

Jesse snorted. "I'd like to see your dainty lil' hands try and work a knife like that."

"Much better than you," Sombra jabbed at his flesh hand, once against letting her sharp nails bite into his skin. She grinned as he swatted at her hand. "No? At least I'd do it."

"Just because I ain't in the mood to go on some stupid hunt doesn't mean I ain't willin' to put a bullet square between their eyes. Right here," Jesse flicked the hacker rather harshly between her eyes. She snarled, batting the hand away.

"I'd like to see you try, McCree," She opened her mouth to continue, but paused as she gained a distant look in her eyes. The look transformed back into a knowing smirk. "Jefe's calling for you."

"New mission?"

"Something like that," Sombra beckoned him down a hallway.

Jesse cracked his neck, secretly wishing he had a moment to shower and brush his teeth before meeting with Reaper. The man behind that bone-white mask didn't seem to care, but years spent trying to live up to Gabriel Reyes' standards was hard to kick.

He still gave a half-hearted attempt by running his fingers through his mess of hair to smooth it down. He readjusted his serape and straightened his hat on his head. His beard was still unkempt and the scent of hard liquor still lingered on him, but it was the closest he could get to looking like he gave a damn when he woke up.

"¿Qué onda?" Sombra smirked, trotting into the room like she owned it. She stopped as she realized that they weren't alone.

Jesse followed her gaze as he entered. Seated in the back near Reaper was a Japanese man, bulging arms crossed over his chest. An intricate sleeve tattoo crawled up one arm, stopping just short of his neck.

_Soft and tender, unblemished--_

He lingered on the sight of the man's throat, a pale contrast to the blues of his ink. It sang to him like a siren's song, begging to be squeezed and marked. Bitten and kissed until his lips and teeth marked the smooth skin as deeply as the ink on his arms.

A nudge from Sombra had him blinking out of his thoughts. He grimaced, taking a seat down by the table. He glanced at Sombra who gave him a knowing look before looking back to the newcomer. The other man's dark eyes glittered back at him, plush lips that were framed perfectly by his groomed beard tilted in the slightest of smirks. Quickly, Jesse schooled his expression back into neutrality, hoping that his staring hadn't been obvious.

"You're taking him with you," Reaper announced in a rasp as he slid a tablet towards McCree. He grabbed the tablet and tapped into the files. The routine information that broke down the details of his next mission lit up the screen. He glanced at the new recruit whose face was similarly illuminated.

"And who the hell is he?" Jesse gestured at the other man. His skin itched, a creeping sense of discomfort enveloping him like a suffocating blanket. He felt uneasy in the presence of the newcomer-- Wanted to grab Peacekeeper and shoot him, smack him around--

_\-- Grab him by his throat and fuck him into the wall._

He bit into the side of his mouth at the invasive thought. It had been years since Jesse felt that swell of desire, years since he had lowered his walls enough for intimacy. And here, this man before him, threatened every shred of self-control he had. Had his heart racing and thoughts clogged by unspeakable desires.

The answer of who the man was laid there before him in all obviousness. There was no denying this sudden surge of feelings and the intensity after dulling his senses with liquor for so long. He swallowed thickly, gaze lingering on his neck before shifting downwards to that spot on his chest-- To the place where Nyx had shamelessly carved into onto moments before. 

The heart beckoned him. Called for him. There was no denying what he felt. They were right, all those people who claimed that you just _knew_. Because he knew from just breathing the same air, from merely glancing in his direction. Jesse's heart raced. 

"Hanzo," The man offered. He met Jesse's gaze, kindling a spark of heat that shot through Jesse's body like an arrow. "At your service."

 _Mine. Mine. Mine._ A voice who had lost everything screamed in the back of his mind. 


End file.
